• Num Finance, an Argentina-based company, has launched nCOP, a stablecoin tied to the Colombian peso, aiming at the remittance market.

• Polygon zkEVM has amassed over $46 million TVL since March, witnessing substantial engagement and deposits.

Num Finance, headquartered in Argentina, has officially launched a stablecoin linked to the Colombian peso. The announcement was made on August 24 through a post on the X platform. This stablecoin, nCOP, operates on the Polygon network and is backed with more collateral than its value, targeting the remittance sector. According to Num’s blog post, Colombia witnesses an inflow of over $6.5 billion annually in remittances, highlighting the significant role stablecoins play in facilitating such transactions.

The nCOP includes the innovative “Num yield functionality,” enabling users to receive rewards in the form of nCOP. Agustín Liserra, the CEO of Num Finance, commented:

” In Colombia, there exists a unique opportunity to ‘tokenize’ remittances and offer them a yield in nCOP, based on regulated financial products. Colombia is one of the main recipients of remittances in Latin America.”

Before this, the company had already introduced two other stablecoins: nARS, tied to the Argentinian peso, and nPEN, tied to the Peruvian sol. In May, Num received pre-seed funding of $1.5 million, led by the Reserve protocol. They revealed that approximately $2.5 million worth of nARS and nPEN were in circulation at that juncture. Moreover, they expressed intentions to launch stablecoins linked to the Brazilian real, Colombian peso, and Mexican peso.

Additionally, there’s a contemplation by the Colombian central bank to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which could potentially serve as another means for remittances. As part of this, the central bank has decided that there should be certain restrictions on holdings and transactions of the future CBDC to protect the local financial system.

Furthermore, it was revealed on August 24th that Mastercard’s assistance for Binance cryptocurrency debit cards in Latin American nations, including Colombia, will be terminated.

Enhancing Polygon zkEVM’s Data Infrastructure

Developers using Polygon zkEVM will now directly access consolidated data feeds provided on-chain by prominent data providers. This development aims to boost the growth of Total Value Locked (TVL) on the network. API3, a blockchain Oracle provider, is introducing a managed data feed service to Polygon zkEVM, a service that complements their existing first-party Oracle services for Polygon zkEVM since April.

This new managed dAPI (decentralized data feed) service from API3, available on the API3 Market, empowers developers to utilize aggregated data from multiple sources delivered by first-party oracle nodes, all natively aggregated on the chain. This innovation addresses challenges in the DeFi ecosystem, where lending protocols and DEXs depend on real-time market data through oracles. 

Often relying on expensive push-type oracles that risk transparency and security. API3’s push oracle solution, built with a first-party architecture, intends to simplify the transition of DeFi protocols from other chains to Polygon zkEVM.

This advancement will stimulate the adoption and scalability of Polygon zkEVM among a wider user base, simultaneously addressing prevailing issues associated with Oracle solutions. The industry recognizes the importance of push oracles in DeFi applications such as Aave, Compound, and DEXs.

Jack Melnick from Polygon Labs expressed enthusiasm about API3’s deployment on Polygon zkEVM, emphasizing how integrating managed dAPIs with Polygon’s scalable infrastructure is a major step towards a more secure and transparent future for decentralized finance.

Polygon zkEVM, introduced in March, has drawn more than $46 million in TVL within the last five months, with a peak of around $56 million. The network has also seen increased participation, with over 400,000 addresses having engaged on-chain, more than doubling since July 1st. Deposits onto the mainnet have surpassed $110 million thus far.

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